the article is interesting, however even better is this response with some of the actual reasons for this pathetic outcome;

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The article is less than helpful in understanding the cause of the effect of the failure of environmentalists to protect the planet from the metastasizing cancer of the parasitic version of free market capitalism. The causes are obvious to those schooled in the history of the environmental movement. The bottom line is that environmentalism and the growth-independent, altruistic capitalism it embraces cannot coexist with growth-dependent, parasitic capitalism. This realization has galvanized the parasitic capitalists to quash all regulation and discredit the environmental movement in general and its push towards sustainability in particular. That includes but is not limited to the coordinated, systematic, and increasingly vicious attack on global warming science, policy, and regulation.

So what are the causes of the effect of the failure of environmentalism to save us and the planet from ourselves? I list many of the causes, individually and in various combinations, as follows:
-- Those motivated by self-sacrifice to protect the public trust as a transcendent value in one's long-term enlightened self-interest are outcompeted by those motivated by short-term, unenlightened self-interest to exploit the resources and assimilative capacities of the public trust for profit, Garret Hardin's "tragedy of the commons".
-- The failure of economics to internalize externalities such that the free market price of a good or service reflects its true life cycle costs and not the subsidized cost by ignoring, minimizing, or misrepresenting those externalities and their consequences.
-- The psychology of human behavior that resists all change in general and is least responsive to risks that occur at some unspecifiable time in the future, irrespective of the seriousness of the consequences of those risks to the individual when those risks are realized.
-- The naive belief that people will change their behavior in response to new information about the risks to the environment associated with various economic activities.
-- A distrust of science and scientific experts, especially those whose science support some form of restraint on the externalities of the free market, because those whose profit margins will suffer under such restraints brainwash the consumers into believing that all such restraints are a slippery slope to the evils of Socialism.
-- The well-planned, -coordinated, and -funded propaganda blitz by the private sector to demonize government, undermine government oversight and regulation in general and environmental oversight and regulation in particular.
-- The derailing of the sustainability movement by claiming that any limits to growth and development are not inherent to the laws of physics, chemistry, and biology but a failure of faith in human ingenuity, while, at the same time, claiming that regulatory agencies always and everywhere ignore the limits to human ingenuity in mandating schedules for technological development, including automobile fleet mileage standards, energy and non-renewable resource consumption efficiency standards, emissions control technologies, and the development and expansion of green energy alternatives.
-- The undue influence of the public and private sectors on environmentalist NGO agendas and methods by inviting them to participate in the process of developing environmental regulations if they promise to play by their rules and come to the tables with reasonable expectations, then keep them at the table with promises of incremental implementation of their scaled-down and scaled-back objectives, then, when both the public and private sectors fall short in fulfilling their limited commitments, the NGOs are pacified with claims that that was the best that could be done under the circumstances.

Ultimately, parasitic and altruistic capitalism cannot coexist. Parasitic capitalism has already come to this realization and declared war on altruistic capitalism. The environmentalists have been slow to come to this realization. Once they get it, there are still fewer people who are willing to accept the responsibilities of stewardship, change their short-sighted, self-indulgent ways, and work collectively towards a sustainable world than those who have been mesmerized by the propaganda of the unregulated free market and continue to indulge in greed and gluttony, individually and collectively, until there is not enough to go around, and only the wealthy who can hire the strong to fight for those limited remaining resources survive to advantage over the poor who are too weak from starvation and disease to fight. That is the order of things as the parasitic capitalists would have it, laughable claims of the trickle down benefits of their largesse to the contrary notwithstanding. That is where we are headed, unless we choose not to play their game anymore. Our self-sacrifice for their profit and a few jobs that pay a minimum wage without benefits is not the new normal. That is their version of the American Dream, but it is our American Nightmare and the planet's epitaph.
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I just have to say that sums it up so nicely; "parasitic capitalism" is the entity that is killing humanity and the world. This is a simple fact and if you do not see this then you are the problem. Stop being the problem look around and examine the world around you,. look at the depletion of resources and the suffering of humanity,. all rise from "parasitic capitalism".

When money drives almost all activity on the planet, it's essential that we understand it. Yet simple questions often get overlooked - questions like : Where does money come from ? Who creates it ? Who decides how it gets used ? And what does that mean for the millions of ordinary people who suffer when money and finance breaks down ?

I agree, beauty, truth, and justice,. are the only things we need. All this money chasing is so short-sited, and just greed based to begin with,. how the simpletons with greedy intentions have taken over control of the world is just amazing to me. Are people so easily mislead?? or are they also greedy and stupid?
I generally think people, the majority of people, are righteous and seek justice and freedom,. only a minority of wealthy greed-whores have money and therefor power,. these few have manipulated the culture to the breaking point,. it fully reminds me of a great series of books The Virga books by Karl Schroeder these are hard sci-fi, with a steam-punk, swashbuckling bent,. (spoiler) eventually this small group pushing for a fuller control over the politics of their world (a spinning ring in a low gravity air bubble) starts cutting the cable that hold the ring together,. they do this to stop others from using them to invade from across the ring,. however the end result is that the ring flies apart throwing the populous into open air, destroying their world/city. Is this the inevitable outcome here? are they so caught up in their own self aggrandizement, that they will use their power to push the eco-systems over the cliff?? It does look so. unless we, the 99% can take the power back. I see some wins,. and also many losses in this struggle so far,. we need to see more winning,. some one wake up Charlie Sheen! sorry, just random thoughts as they go through my head,. . .

I think they have manipulated our culture to the breaking point, yes! And, it is that very culture that needs to change and wake-up. Americans need something to adhere to beyond the ideals of consumerism and "rugged individualism" which have failed so many while benefiting the wealthy and corporations.